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Clive Palmer steps back from royalties assertions

Annie GuestUpdated
Fri 21 Jun 2013, 3:12 PM AEST

Is the Australian public starting to see the unravelling of Clive Palmer's political ambitions? For the first time, he's clearly retreated from one of the many and varied claims he's made about his business dealings.

Transcript

TANYA NOLAN: Mining magnate and prime ministerial aspirant Clive Palmer has retreated from one of the many claims he's made about his business dealings.

Mr Palmer says he doesn't receive the half a billion dollars in royalties he had claimed to be receiving from his Chinese investment partner.

And some community groups in Townsville have this week lost their funding from Clive Palmer's Queensland Nickel company.

Mr Palmer's bid for political office is now under more scrutiny than ever before.

Annie Guest reports from Brisbane.

ANNIE GUEST: Today in Western Sydney, Clive Palmer is announcing another sports star as Palmer United Party's 119th candidate for the federal election.

Former Australian Rugby League representative Matt Adamson will lead the party's state Senate ticket, according to Mr Palmer on Lateline.

CLIVE PALMER: We're confident he he'll stick it up them like Dougie Hawkins says in Melbourne, Teddy Whitman said many years ago.

ANNIE GUEST: It's a lighter spot for Mr Palmer who has been under increasing scrutiny lately.

The former Liberal National Party life member has made many assertions over the past couple of years, including last March that the CIA was funding green attacks on the Australian coal industry.

CLIVE PALMER: Well the CIA reported to the president that their role was to ensure the US competitive advantage and economic advantages. That's how you know it's funded by the CIA.

ANNIE GUEST: The conspiracy theory prompted this internet spoof.

YOUTUBE PARODY VIDEO: Rather than fighting the war on terror, the war on drugs or the war on all the other important and nasty things, we've instead been focussing our attention on Australian businessman Clive Palmer and his child minding business...

What? ...Mineral mining business.

ANNIE GUEST: But now satire has been replaced by serious questioning particularly of the claims Mr Palmer makes about his personal wealth and business interests.

On Sunday he claimed that his Chinese partner CITEC pays his business a half a billion dollars in iron ore royalties a year.

Last night he retreated, referring to it as money owing.

CLIVE PALMER: I've got independent advice from our lawyers that we're entitled to over $500 million in relation to our CITEC matter. It's been a public issue. Now I'm quite happy with the receivables that are there that we're entitled to based on their advice.

ANNIE GUEST: Now there are issues around donations he's promised and reportedly not delivered, according to The Australian newspaper, including $100 million promised for Pilbara Aboriginal communities and $6 million from his company Mineralogy for the Duke of Edinburgh youth awards.

Earlier this week, the ABC reported on sponsorships Mr Palmer's Townsville nickel refinery is retreating from, including a basketball team and economic development group, Townsville Enterprise. Its chief executive David Kippin said he understood challenges facing the refinery.

DAVID KIPPIN: We understand the difficulties that Queensland Nickel are encountering with their operations and the dollar and the commodity prices are at, you know, at historical lows so they're finding it tough.

ANNIE GUEST: However, Mr Palmer has denied claims his business is in strife, and suggested that because he's the 100 per cent private shareholder, it deserves less scrutiny than public business interests.

But professor Scott Prasser from the Australian Catholic University says that's not the case.

SCOTT PRASSER: No, as a matter of fact you might argue a case for stronger scrutiny. If he is the 100 per cent shareholder, gee, we want to make sure that your claims you're making about the companies you say you own are accurate. That's all people are asking.

ANNIE GUEST: And is the fact that he's had to retreat from at least one claim - that about the royalties from the Chinese company - is that a sign that things might start to unravel for him?

SCOTT PRASSER: I think it could be. We saw this a couple of years ago about some of the other things he was doing with projects and things and they never came off, they never came to fruition.

ANNIE GUEST: What difference might it make to his efforts anyway with polls showing that the support for his party is a few per cent here and there? Does he have a chance of reaching his goal of getting to the lodge anyway or indeed of any of his candidates being successful?

SCOTT PRASSER: He's got no chance and people running for his party have got no chance.

TANYA NOLAN: That's Professor Scott Prasser from Australian Catholic University with Annie Guest.

EDITOR'S NOTE 21/06/2013: This transcript has been amended to reflect the correct institution at which Professor Scott Prasser is based.